As technologies such as computer Internet and personal mobile communication continue to see increases in distribution and use, there is an increased interest in accessing/incorporating these technologies to reach consumers. In many respects, these technologies have great potential as avenues for suppliers of consumer goods and services to reach and interact with consumers and to track the activity of consumers. However, there are counter weighing factors to consider. One very important factor is the issue of privacy.
Many consumers may be reluctant to initiate contact in order to purchase goods or to get more information about them with a goods or services supplier solely on the grounds that the supplier would then know the identity of the consumer. It is possible that such consumers are apprehensive that such knowledge of identity could lead to unwanted continued contact by the goods or services supplier or even possible dissemination of the identity information to a third party (e.g., another supplier of goods or services).
As such, it is likely that such consumers may be more likely to initiate contact with a supplier of goods or services if the consumer had a greater level of anonymity and had a greater level of control as to ultimate disclosure of their identity. Thus, there is a need to provide such benefits.
Also, computer Internet and personal mobile communication providers realize that potential exists for increased utilization of their services and content. However, many regulations are in place to control access of consumer information and access based upon such information. Such regulations are typically based upon an underlying premise of consumer privacy. However, marketing of, sales of, information about or relationships around consumer goods and services may become more effective if the marketing is targetable rather than just presented via a mass-marketing approach. Thus, there is a beneficial need to provide for such increased utilization of the communication technologies. Also, consumer profiling will over time deliver great value.
Due to the lack of interactivity, consumer response monitoring is the weakest link in the conventional advertising value chain. It would be beneficial to provide a solution and take advantage of the resulting business opportunities.